Mobile Usability Testing to Prevent Fat Finger Syndrome

Fat Finger Syndrome is the accidental trigger of a secondary action while navigating a touchscreen user interface.
Quality Assurance
March 2, 2023
Hand holding iphone

Fat Finger Syndrome is continuously problematic for mobile usability testing. While some might blame the user for being inattentive and clumsy, the fact of the matter is that the user interface is at fault. After all, the purpose of good design is to ensure that factors that might frustrate or confuse users are eliminated

Recently, there were several occasions during mobile usability testing where I came across a layout in which a hamburger placed alongside the logout icon was used to represent the menu. The user will surely become annoyed with being required to log back in.

This annoyance is the result of incorrect target zones and spacing of elements, especially on the smaller screen.

Below are a few recommendations for you to prevent fat fingers from affecting your design:

It is imperative that you conduct mobile usability tests to avoid fat finger syndrome when developing applications.

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